Good to be back
BY LOUIS FEROX THE first week of lockdown easing has passed and I hope you all got your nets wet under the first fish of the new season.
Some of my more pessimistic friends find the cloud in every silver lining, bemoaning the sunny conditions. But a quick flick through the fish of the week entries, fishing groups and catch reports from around the country saw a much brighter outlook.
Our fisheries in particular have gone a long way to change operations to accommodate the new Covid guidelines. From the feedback I’ve had, it’s been a success.
Extending opening times (some from 4:30am) has allowed anglers to get their fix while still maintaining safe distances and following simple rules that will hopefully keep the car parks from ending up like Sauchiehall St used to on a Saturday. I’ve heard more than a few reports of families getting together for the first time in months to have a few casts at their favourite fishery.
I’m looking forward to getting out for a few hours testing my rainbow rod this weekend as the fishing has been superb so far and an early morning or evening rise might be just the thing. During the warmer months, don’t discount the idea of fishing early and late in the day, especially if you’ve only got a couple of hours.
There are several reasons beyond simply “trout feed at first light and again near dusk”.
Trout definitely feed – and are caught – all day long, you just need to fish to the conditions.
This season has skipped straight over spring into early summer, bringing some very clear skies and the most common deterrent for rising fish is probably sunlight.
If the conditions are hot, bright and overwhelming most of the day, trout are more prone to head into deeper portions of the water column where fishing nymphs, buzzers or damsels is more likely to produce until there’s a bit more cloud cover and they start looking up for a feed. Often, you’ll notice the rise switching on when clouds creep over and especially as dusk approaches, when a lake can suddenly look like a boiling pan.
Just because they’re rising doesn’t mean they’re easy to catch, and you may still need to match the hatch to fool them.
I like to keep it subtle, using patterns like CDC Emergers, Hares Ears and Yellow Owls in various sizes or colours until something clicks.
As the light fades, making simple static casts – either predicting rises or speculating around likely areas without making too much commotion – is the order of the day. Lots of splashy casting or wading can easily push fish out of reach at the best of times, so I’ll be keeping my usual clumsiness to a minimum and see if I can’t get lucky on a cast or two.